Eight of the best roller derby teams from Western Canada have arrived in Nelson for the Klash in the Kootenays.
“It’s quite exciting,” said Barb Morgen with Brown Paper Tickets who is helping with some of the tournament’s logistics. “The league in the Kootenays actually has the most roller derby teams in all of Canada, even of the bigger cities. It really seems to be the hotbed of interest in the sport right in the West Kootenays.”
The West Kootenay Roller Derby League is home to seven home teams from Trail to Salmo and into Nelson, and has one all-star team, the Kootenay Kannibelles — who will be skating in the weekend’s tournament.
“This tournament this weekend will really end up being a best of the best in Western Canada, and perhaps there are some leaders that will be skating this weekend that might take it all in the end,” said Morgen.
This year is the first year in Canada that there will be a national champion, and Morgan is predicting that a team from BC could be named No. 1.
“There is a better than average likelihood that that team could be skating this weekend in Nelson,” she said.
The bouts begin on Friday with the Kannibelles taking on the Okanagan Shuswap Roller Derby Association.
The teams will compete Friday and Saturday with championship games on Sunday.
For more details and a full schedule visit the kootenayrollerderby.com